Environment and the leather industry in Tamilnadu: An overview Vijayabaskar S.N.*, Ph.D Research Scholar, Dr. Abdulraheem A.**, Assistant Professor & Research Supervisor *Department of Economics, The New College, Chennai-14. **Department of Economics, The New College, Chennai-14. Online published on 3 January, 2012. Abstract As the 21st century begins, several well-established environmental trends are shaping the future of civilizations all over the globe. Rising temperature, falling water tables, shrinking cropland per person, collapsing fisheries, shrinking forests, the loss of plant and animal species, all these have become universal concerns. Land degradation, biodiversity, air pollution, fresh water resources and hazardous waste management have been identified as the major issues that face India and Tamilnadu today. The growth of the industry has resulted in extremely high water pollution in the regions where the tanneries are concentrated. The leather industry has been under pressure from the pollution control authorities and many have subscribed to a central effluent treatment plant. The water after treatment continues to be unusable, as it is very saline. The sludge from water treatment continues to be a serious problem. A detailed study in the context of Industrial Ecology helped in redefining the problem which till then had been only viewed as a pollution control issue as the effluents did not meet the specifications laid down by the law. Many academic studies have been undertaken to ensure that the effluent quality comes as close as possible to the standards using the best available technology. However, the problem is much more serious. The tanneries are using a resource, water, which is extremely scarce in the region. The industry is also contaminating the groundwater resources of the local community, which is causing great hardship to the population, as it is depriving them of desperately needed water. It will not be long before the social pressure and the law courts bring the leather industry to a halt. In the context of Industrial Ecology, the first priority is to focus on the use of the local resource, water. The local community cannot afford to spare water for the industry. One option would be to relocate the tanneries along the coast, where they could draw seawater instead of using valuable freshwater. If the industry is unable to develop processes that can use seawater as it is, it will have to desalinate the seawater for its use. The treated wastewater could be discharged into the sea, as long as all pollutants other than salt are removed. Top |